Mr. Netanyahu’s reversal came after a tumultuous day of behind-the-scenes political wrangling, street protests and strikes that halted some health services and blocked flights from leaving Israel’s main airport. By backing down from his bid to weaken the judiciary, Mr. Netanyahu was attempting to restore calm to the streets — but he now risks destabilizing his political coalition.

Earlier in the day, hard-line members of his coalition had vowed to press on with the overhaul as fears grew about clashes between supporters and opponents of the plan.

On Monday afternoon, Mr. Ben-Gvir, the head of the Jewish Power party and a member in Mr. Netanyahu’s governing coalition, said he had agreed with the Israeli leader that a vote on the measure could be delayed until after a coming parliamentary recess.

Here’s what to know:

• Mr. Netanyahu’s government — the most right-wing and religiously conservative in Israeli history — has sought to give itself greater control over the selection of Supreme Court justices and to limit the court’s authority over Parliament. Critics fear the changes will remove important checks and balances on the government and erode democracy. Supporters say the changes would curb the influence of an overreaching and unelected judicial bureaucracy.

• Mr. Netanyahu’s firing of the defense minister, Yoav Gallant, who had called for a halt to the process, sparked overnight demonstrations. Protesters returned to the streets on Monday, gathering outside Parliament in Jerusalem and blocking a major road in Tel Aviv,. There were also calls for counterprotests from a leading coalition lawmaker, Simcha Rothman, who has led the efforts to overhaul the judiciary, and a far-right group of soccer fans.

• The fight over the judicial plan has become a stand-in for a deeper ideological and cultural dispute in Israel between those who want a more secular and pluralist state and those with a more religious and nationalist vision. Religious Jews, particularly the ultra-Orthodox, see the court as an obstacle to their ultraconservative way of life.

• Mr. Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, was once a staunch defender of a strong and independent Supreme Court. Now he is standing trial on corruption charges before the same judiciary that would be subject to his government’s overhaul, and critics say his effort to curb its powers is an attempt to extricate himself from legal troubles or evade punishment. Mr. Netanyahu has said he has no personal motives and denies wrongdoing in the cases against him.

• Mr. Gallant’s firing heightened friction between Mr. Netanyahu and the Biden administration, which has become increasingly vocal about its reservations over the judicial plan. The National Security Council issued a statement overnight calling for compromise, expressing deep concern and stressing that “democratic values have always been, and must remain, a hallmark of the U.S.-Israel relationship.”